


Writing Weekend

by honestgrins



Series: To Rely on the Kindness of Strangers [11]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 07:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6070282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Tumblr, I asked for prompts to jumpstart my creativity, and these were the resulting drabbles. Many thanks to everyone who sent me a prompt, I truly appreciate your help!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just a Trim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline is a hairdresser and she gets told that she needs to cut famous actor Klaus Mikaelson's hair. He doesn't want much cut off but she disagrees (this may have something to do with me wanting him to have a hair cut.)

"Caroline, I need you to stay late tonight," Alaric said, not looking up from his computer. His salon was a hotspot for celebrities in Los Angeles, and that often meant accommodating the schedules of the rich and famous. "I've got a new client for you, but he won't get off set until ten tonight or so."

Groaning, Caroline nodded to her boss. "Fine," she answered into her coffee. "It's going to be a long day for me, though. Who's the client?"

"Klaus Mikaelson."

Her eyes went wide as her brain quickly processed the possibilities. "Those curls," she muttered to herself before heading to the nearest magazine in the waiting area. Sure enough, bad boy Klaus Mikaelson of acting fame was in need of a haircut. "Excellent."

"If you could hold off on the evil plans until you actually talk to the client, I'd really appreciate it," Alaric teased.

Humming, Caroline just pulled out her phone to check her schedule and look up more recent photos of her newest client.

* * *

The salon was mostly dark when Klaus approached. "Are you sure this is the place," he asked into his phone.

"Yes," Rebekah scoffed on the other end of the line. "You're a nightmare in need of a haircut, and this place comes highly recommended. As your stylist, I'm ordering you to go inside. As your sister, I'm threatening your life if you don't."

"Thank you, Bekah," he sighed, testing the door. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. Hanging up, he pushed his way into the deserted salon. "Hello?"

"Back here," a pearly voice called out. A woman waved as we walked toward him, blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you for another twenty minutes," she said, ushering him back to her lighted station. "I'm Caroline."

"Klaus," he greeted, removing his jacket while she finished setting up her accoutrements.

"It's really nice to meet you, Klaus," she said, smiling. "I have to admit, I'm a huge fan of your work."

"Thank you, love," he said sincerely. He made himself comfortable in the seat as she fastened the cape around his neck. "I just need a trim, we're starting principal photography tomorrow."

"Of course," Caroline said, though she frowned as she looked at him in the mirror. "If we go for a more substantial trim, though, I think we can neaten up your curls and make them easier to manage."

Smirking, Klaus pinned her with a sexy gaze. "My producers seem to like the shaggy dog look, sweetheart," he said. "I don't think they'd appreciate a major deviation from that."

She bit her lip in thought. "Do you like the shaggy dog look?"

Klaus shrugged. "It hasn't hurt, but it is a bit high-maintenance for my tastes."

Nodding, Caroline raked her fingers through this curls.

Klaus tried not to preen at the sensation.

"And these producers," she mused aloud, "will they fire you if we do deviate?"

"Probably not," Klaus admitted, curious at the mischievous glint in her eyes. "What?"

Suddenly gripping the ends of his curls, Caroline sheared through the hair standing on its end. The cut was closer than Klaus expected. "Whoops," she said innocently.

Klaus huffed out a disbelieving laugh. "I guess you'll have to neaten things up, won't you?"

"For what it's worth," she said, shrugging, "I'll make it worth it."

His shy grin turned dirty. "I'll hold you to that, love."


	2. Hairgate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sequel to "Just a Trim"

"What were you thinking?"

"Your unkemptness was part of your charm!"

"What will wigs cut into our budget?"

Klaus just laughed at the conversations whirling around him. He knew the producers wouldn't be happy with his haircut, but there was something freeing about making his own decisions.

Though, he supposed he could blame it on Caroline.

Rather than listening to his frantic bosses, Klaus pulled out his phone to check for any messages from the pretty blonde who joyously cut his hair the night before.

Despite that first shear, Caroline had taken great care with each cut she made to highlight the best features of his hair. It was obvious she took pride in her job, and she practically radiated with enjoyment.

Klaus had been hooked at her mischievous smile, and he found himself asking for her number while she was busy cleaning her station. Though she was hesitant, his imploring promises to be the utmost gentleman and to happily pose for a selfie must have worked. He got the number and the selfie excitedly posted to her Instagram.

He would never admit to just how long he looked through her photos that night when he couldn't fall asleep, but he looked forward to hearing from her.

**Caroline** : What's the verdict with your bosses? Do they hate it, or do they hate it?

Smiling, he checked to make sure no one was talking to him. He ducked his head to type out a response.

**Klaus** : You're making waves, sweetheart. Want me to name drop the salon?

**Caroline** : Only if it's good news!

**Klaus** : I happen to love my new hair.

**Caroline** : So you're not mad at me?

**Klaus** : Only if you won't be too embarrassed by my appearance to let me take you out tonight.

**Caroline** : Are you really asking your hairdresser out on a date?

Klaus frowned at his phone. Is that really what she thought? Surely, it shouldn't be so bizarre that an actor would date a salon professional.

**Klaus** : I'm asking a beautiful, strong woman out to dinner because I want to get to know her. I think a date depends on whether such a woman deems me worthy of a kiss goodnight.

**Caroline** : Oh my god, you're so cheesy.

He froze, trying to keep calm. He hoped he hadn't chased the first interesting woman he had met in months away in just one text conversation.

**Klaus** : Is that a no?

**Caroline** : Hell no, I want to see if you can pull off this cheesiness in person. My last client should be finished by 7. Pick me up at 8?

Klaus smiled bashfully at his phone, not registering the annoyed looks directed at him from the producers.

**Klaus** : Happy to oblige, sweetheart. I'll see you then.

She texted her address, as well as a selfie of her blowing a kiss. Klaus felt a bit silly, but in a strangely good way.

"Klaus, have you heard a word we said? We'll just have to deal with wigs for you at this point. How could you?"


	3. Stabby Stab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline and Klaus are college students who have similar circle of friends. They don't know the other is a demon/vampire hunter. They run into each other when chasing after the same monster. Klaus may have underestimated Care and got his ass kicked.

He had been trying to get her to agree to a date for ages now, unable to get her out of his mind as he found himself sketching her face throughout his notebook. The history lecture wasn't nearly as fascinating for him as perfecting the curl of her hair. Oblivious to his attention, she just tapped away at her notes three seats down the row.

"Are you still hung up on her, Nik," Kol asked over drinks at the bar. Klaus had zoned out, sketching her face even on the bar napkin. "Bonnie says she doesn't have time for a boyfriend, and she's not interested in anything less than that."

Klaus scoffed, tucking the napkin into his pocket as he drained his glass. "Don't worry about it," he told his brother, standing. "Caroline's just a muse, and I'm not looking to be anyone's boyfriend."

That was his story, and he was sticking to it.

"I'm going home," Klaus said as he put on his jacket.

"Call me if you get there," Kol said with a warning look.

Nodding, Klaus dropped some cash on the bar and made his way outside. He patted his jacket pocket, reassured that his wooden stake was easily accessible in case he ran into any vamps.

Klaus got into the vampire hunting game young, when the Mikaelson patriarch's usual abuse turned even more deadly when Mikael woke up with fangs and a lust for blood. Panicked, Klaus was able to surprise a starving Mikael with a chair leg to the chest. Though he had acted in the heat of moment for self-defense, Klaus couldn't deny the thrill that came from disintegrating a vampire.

While his older siblings and mother disowned him for ridding them of Mikael, Rebekah and Kol helped him hone his skills as a vampire slayer of sorts. They were a surprisingly good team, despite their family squabbles from time to time.

Vampires made for a pretty good common enemy.

The creatures of the night were a more prevalent problem than the world would like to admit, and Klaus could count on running into one on campus pretty regularly. What better place to call a hunting ground than a reputable, safe college?

On his otherwise quiet walk home, Klaus found such a vampire stalking in the shadows behind a pretty blonde.

Wait, Klaus knew those curls. He had a bar napkin sketch full of them in his pocket. A vampire was about to attack-

"Caroline," he called out, sprinting toward her.

Seeing its window of opportunity quickly closing, the vampire jumped toward Caroline in hopes of grabbing her before Klaus could interfere. Just before the vamp reached her, though, Caroline whipped around and shoved a wooden stake deep into its chest.

The vamp poofed into dust, leaving Klaus and Caroline to stare at each other. Caroline was much less surprised than Klaus was.

"Huh," she said, using a rag to wipe any detritus from her stake. "Bonnie thought she got a vibe from you and Kol, wondering if you were the other hunter around here."

Speechless, Klaus desperately tried to order the questions in his mind. "Vibe," he finally sputtered out.

"Uh, you'd have to ask Bonnie about that," Caroline said, shrugging. She wasn't about to out her best friend as a witch. "Thanks for the attempted rescue and everything, but I clearly had it covered."

Caroline turned to leave, but Klaus grabbed her wrist. "Wait, love," he pleaded, unlike the usual smarminess he fell into when talking to her. "How did you-"

"Become a hunter," she asked, smiling at his utter confusion. "Maybe it's time I take you up on that dinner invitation. We should talk."


	4. Sidekicks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sequel to "Stabby Stab"

"I don't understand," Rebekah said as Kol eagerly set up another desk in their ops study. Sure, it was technically the family townhouse, but their fledgling vampire hunting outfit required a home base. "We're just taking these girls in?"

Kol feigned nonchalance with a shrug, but Rebekah could see the excitement jittering off him. "Nik's been sweet on this Caroline forever, always drawing her in his books," he explained. "Turns out, she and her delectable friend Bonnie are also fighting the good fight."

Rebekah scoffed at the familiar name. "This is the Bonnie you've been hanging around," she asked. "I see how it is, you and Nik just want your girlfriends closer."

"Not his girlfriend," a woman's voice said. Rebekah and Kol looked up to find Bonnie carrying a box with a fern poking out the top. "Klaus took Caroline downstairs, something about training. He sent me up here?"

"Welcome to the dollhouse, darling," Kol greeted, rushing to take the box off her hands. "What have we here?"

There were plenty of assorted herbs, plants, and musty old books. "Just the things I use to help Caroline do what she does," Bonnie answered cryptically. "Even though she has your brother as a sidekick now, I won't just abandon her."

"Nik's not a sidekick," Rebekah sneered. "And we were doing just fine before Nik and Kol got distracted by a couple of pretty faces."

"Okay," Bonnie said, reaching for the box. "I'll just get going then."

"Wait," Kol cried, holding the box away from her. "We can adjust to some more team members, Bekah. We just need to sort out the duties." He looked imploringly to Bonnie, who just shrugged in mild acceptance. "I make the gadgets, Bekah handles the tactical communication."

"And what do you do," Rebekah asked mockingly as Bonnie started rooting through her box of stuff.

Sighing, Bonnie held up what looked like a really old book. "I'm a witch," she said. "I help Caroline with spells and potions, either for weapons or detection."

Kol's expression was full of awe. "Wicked," he said, practically drooling.

"Right," Rebekah sniffed, striding out of the room. "Well, if Nik's training Caroline, I think that clears up just who the sidekick is."

"Come on," Kol said, setting the box down on the brand new desk. "I'll show you the gym."

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie pointedly did not take Kol's arm and followed after Rebekah.

Klaus and Caroline were stretching on the mats, preparing to spar with another hunter for the first time. Their dinner had gone well, both explaining how they got into hunting vampires in the first place. Bonnie's grandma and Caroline's dad were both victims of a vampire attack, and the magical Bennetts had a whole history of fighting fanged monsters.

It took some persuasion, but Klaus had finally convinced Caroline to team up with him and his siblings on a trial basis. By training together, he hoped to assure himself that she would be safe. If it meant getting closer, he surely wasn't going to complain.

"So," he said, bouncing on the balls of his toes. "Do you always bait vampires by walking around late at night?"

Pinning him with a glare, Caroline threw the first punch. He dodged it, but just barely. "Can it really be considered taking advantage if their whole MO is trying to take advantage of me," she asked, holding her hands up defensively.

"I guess not," he said, feinting right to swipe left. The hit landed, but she moved her feet quickly to get in better position. "I just want to get a sense of your fighting style."

"I'm faster than people expect," she said with a smirk, right before spinning into a roundhouse kick that knocked him to his knees.

She helped him up, only for him to pull her back to his front and hold her firmly to him. He held a rubber stake to her sternum, though all she felt was his warm breath hitting her ear.

"Got you," he whispered silkily.

"Yeah," she asked, melting into his embrace just enough for him to loosen his grip on the stake. She neatly tore it from his hands, only to hastily swipe it across his neck in a graceful spin move. "Stunned," she noted, then gripped his shoulder for a counterweight to thrust the stake flat into his chest. "Dead."

They heard clapping from the walkway above, where Kol and the girls were watching avidly. "I told you he was the sidekick," Bonnie teased, waving to Caroline.

The blonde bit her lip playfully, enjoying the impressed expression on Klaus's face. "I'll settle for partner," she replied.


	5. Cuddles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My roommate won't stop asking for headrubs & flea collars. His werewolf side is acting up & I have 3 chapters of my 2nd supernatural book to finish the night of the next full moon or I'm dead but he's pouting. Fine. One bellyrub!

She tried working at the kitchen table, but Klaus was banging around loudly in the pantry. "Where did you hide the flea collars?"

She tried hiding in her bedroom, but he would knock at the door only to sit in the threshold when she finally opened it. He just watched her type away on the bed.

She ended up on the couch, racing against her deadline to get her chapters in to her editor. Klaus's head kept shifting against her stomach, blocking her way to the laptop.

"Klaus," she scolded. "I know you're getting antsy because of the full moon. You're great to live with the other 23 days of the month, but this week sucks."

The werewolf narrowed his eyes in distaste. "I could say the same for you, you know," he said.

Caroline scoffed, pushing his head away from her stomach. "I'm not sure it's fair to compare my lady troubles to your supernatural transition schedule, but whatever," she snapped. "I'm on a tight deadline, and I can't deal with your crap today."

Chastened, Klaus silently rolled off the couch and slunk away to his room.

She knew she should apologize (that was bitchy, no matter which way she looked at it), but she really needed to write. She ended up writing a chapter based on Klaus's clingy behavior before each full moon, even using his crude comparison from their tiff. It wasn't what she had planned, but hopefully her editor would be soothed for the time being.

As soon as she pressed "Send," she closed laptop and went to find Klaus.

He was curled up pitifully on his bed, ignoring her entrance. As roommates, they hadn't crossed the line to being more than friends, but there was a genuine affection there. Sometimes, that led to cuddle sessions.

Caroline slipped onto his bed to gently spoon him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, lacing an arm around his waist. "I know this week is rough for you."

Klaus tried not to preen at the attention. "I didn't mean to distract you earlier," he muttered mulishly.

"I know," she answered. "Not to be rude about the whole 'you turn into a giant dog' thing, but would a belly rub help at all?"

She could tell he didn't want to say yes, but he loosened from his tense position almost immediately. Caroline took it as a silent assent and soothingly rubbed his torso, keeping it completely PG.

Even as they fell asleep, Caroline kept up the gentle motions as long as she could. She was not so gentle the next morning, when an excited wolf nudged her awake so she could open the door for him.

"Werewolves," she said, rolling her eyes.


	6. Unbelievable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus meets Caroline's daughters

Klaus shut the door behind him, knowing that Hope would let him know if Josie or Lizzie needed anything when they awoke. Bunking all the girls together seemed like the safest option, especially considering the conversation he needed to have with the frantic vampire sitting in his kitchen.

He made his way downstairs, only to find Caroline nervously bouncing her leg as she sipped her warmed blood from a mug. She was glancing around the ornate room, but her eyes caught his arrival before he could note any changes since he last saw her. Well, other than the little girls she had brought with her. "Do you need more blood," he asked, moving to the fridge to get another bag.

"I'm okay," Caroline insisted, setting down her mug. "Thanks for letting us crash, I wasn't sure where else to go."

"You're always welcome here, love," Klaus said, stunned that she had come to him for safety. "I seem to recall issuing several invitations for you visit the city."

Rolling her eyes, Caroline felt comfortable for the first time since she was attacked at the news station. "I'm sure you didn't expect that to include Josie and Lizzie," she replied. "Ric just told me to drive, and I came straight here."

"Hope loves playing hostess," Klaus said, smiling.

"Just like her dad," Caroline commented. She bit her lip in hesitation. "Are you sure Hayley won't mind-"

"It's my weekend with Hope, and we've dealt with the Huntress before," Klaus assured her, fighting his own need to reach out to her. "She trusts me to protect her."

Caroline nodded, breathing deeply to acclimate herself to the strange situation. She was drinking blood in Klaus's kitchen, with all three of their daughters sleeping upstairs. "When we met, I would have never guessed in a million years that we would be sitting here right now, worried about our children."

Klaus's eyes crinkled, a bittersweet feeling warming his chest. "It suits you, you know," he said. "Motherhood."

Snorting into her mug, Caroline still managed a smile. "Smotherhood, you mean," she cracked. "I do everything I can to give them a good life, only for me to snatch them up on the run from a crazy supernatural huntress."

Her laugh verged on hysterical, and Klaus couldn't hold himself back any longer. He wrapped her in a hug, trying to shush her panicked breaths. "You're doing the best you can," he whispered, running a soothing hand up and down her back. "I'm glad you're here, that you're not going to fight alone."

"Mommy?"

The little voice had Caroline jumping away from Klaus, and she instantly moved toward Lizzie in the doorway. She rubbed her tiny fists in her eyes.

"Hi, baby," Caroline whispered, crouching to Lizzie's eye level. "I'm here."

"Where are we," Lizzie asked, her tired eyes taking in the giant kitchen and the man watching them.

"We're at my friend Klaus's house," she explained, looking back to the hybrid. "You and Josie get to hang out with his daughter, Hope, but you have to go back to bed."

"Is that Klaus," Lizzie whispered, though Klaus could still hear her clearly.

Caroline dropped her head, knowing she couldn't avoid this meeting any longer. Standing, she picked Lizzie up to hold her on her hip. "Klaus Mikaelson," she said formally, similar to the way she spoke when playing princesses with the girls. "This is Miss Elizabeth Saltzman."

"Hello, Miss Elizabeth," Klaus said. He took her small hand in his as he bowed over it. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Shyly, Lizzie tucked her head into Caroline's neck, but her grin was wide and toothy. "Hi," she whispered happily.

Caroline tried not to cry, but her eyes watered at the feeling of her baby girl cuddled so tight to her. It had been a long ordeal, and the girls were all she had left. "You ready for bed, princess?"

"Okay, Mommy," Lizzie said, yawning as she nodded.

"I'll show you to your chambers," Klaus said. He bowed again, much to Lizzie's delight. The polite hand burning on the small of Caroline's back, though, caused a much different reaction as he led her back to Hope's room.

But that was a problem for another day, Caroline figured. She needed to take what comfort she could that Klaus would keep the girls safe.


End file.
